On Monday, Director Zhao of the Cultural Bureau received an extra surprise personally delivered by Xue Jing.
Early in the morning, before Director Zhao even arrived at the office, Xue Jing had already been waiting for him at the door for a long time. When Director Zhao first saw Xue Jing, his expression was very sour, as if he wanted to roll his eyes to the ceiling. However, after he glanced through the report that Xue Jing had brought him, his face immediately brightened.
Fifteen minutes later, he held the folder in his hands, admiring it with obvious delight, repeatedly clicking his tongue in admiration, "Hey Xiao Xue, your opening is really good!"
As Director Zhao spoke, he tried to pat his shoulder, but his arm, though raised heavily, fell very gently, as if afraid of disturbing his thoughts. He brushed his shoulder lightly and said, "You've written so much in just one week? And it's so profound? Are you planning to expand the length?"
Xue Jing smiled and nodded, acting as obediently as a model student towards his teacher. In reality, the bound text didn't take a week to complete; he had actually finished those 20,000 words yesterday in the hotel.
A sandstorm raged outside the window all day, leaving a layer of yellow dust on the carpet inside the windowsill. But Xue Jing was completely unaffected by the bad weather and pungent smell, and sat at his desk typing for a full twelve hours.
I took a short break to rest my neck, skipped meals, and continued working on my laptop, sipping cheap tea bags and meticulously crafting my words and phrases.
The last time he felt this urgent urge to complete a work was when Ha Yue bit his wrist.
That summer, with his right hand wrapped in a blood-soaked bandage, he spent ten days completing the first draft of "Afternoon Rooftop".
My fingers felt like they were wound up; I developed acute tenosynovitis immediately after finishing the manuscript.
Seeing Xue Jing nod, Director Zhao took a wry smile, paced back and forth, and then sat back down at his desk with some difficulty. "But our previous price... can't be any higher."
The report was indeed very good, and from a personal perspective, he wanted to do more for his junior. However, matters within the bureau must be handled strictly according to the rules. Once the budget has been allocated, no further applications can be made; that's the regulation.
"Sigh." Director Zhao sighed as he placed the report on the table.
"To be honest, that's how things are in our bureau. It's called the Cultural Bureau, but after the system reform, radio, television, and tourism are the main businesses. There are no publishing houses operating in the city. The subordinate unit under its jurisdiction is just a public library."
"Don't laugh at me, but how do I put it? It's not even comparable to a random Starbucks in a big city. The books were all donated by companies after begging and pleading."
"So you see, even if you expand the length and change the word count, the price you submit will still be based on the price agreed upon with the Writers' Association. We can no longer charge by word."
Although Suicheng is small, Director Zhao is still considered a member of the literary and artistic circles. He attends many meetings and listens to a lot of gossip during his leisure time, so he knows how well-known authors make deals with publishers.
While the profession of author agent is not yet fully established in China, the tiered royalty system has become an unwritten consensus within the industry.
He himself studied culture and agreed that writers put a lot of effort into their works and should receive due compensation. Given the current poor copyright awareness in the domestic market, he felt he needed to do more for the authors. Unfortunately, this kind of mutually beneficial cooperation does not exist in the Suicheng Cultural Bureau.
The bureau is truly poor.
People strive for better opportunities; without good treatment, there are no talented individuals. This is why economically underdeveloped areas often struggle to retain permanent residents.
This will create a vicious cycle if it continues.
After saying this, Director Zhao pushed up his glasses, sighed, got up from his seat, and began packing his belongings for the upcoming meeting in Lincheng.
The meeting notebook, pen, laptop, teacup, and goji berries were placed into the bag in that order.
He was certain that Xue Jing's unfinished report was going to fall through. His junior had given up, and he had to hurry up and contact the next author who could take the job. After all, temporary workers come and go, but the quotas are fixed.
The Earth can function even without anyone.
He shouldn't give up his work at the Cultural Bureau just because he failed to secure a manuscript once.
To his utter surprise, just as he picked up his briefcase, Xue Jing behind him said something that greatly astonished him.
Xue Jing said that he did not write this article to make money, and he was willing to waive the service fee if the bureau had financial difficulties.
Half an hour later, Xue Jing and Director Zhao boarded a Coaster bus bound for Lincheng.
Director Zhao had already submitted Xue Jing's attendance quota on Tuesday, so it wasn't considered a forced addition. Going together would allow them to chat about literature and deepen their relationship.
The two chatted happily inside the car, beaming with joy.
In particular, I heard that Xue Jing intended to stay in Suicheng to write his new novel.
This time, in addition to discussing cultural development in Suicheng, Director Zhao also opened up to Xue Jing about what he had seen and heard in the Bureau of Culture since he started working there.
From recent guidelines for artistic creation to the petty squabbles among artists.
In particular, when talking about the last time the Suicheng Cultural Bureau hosted members of the Writers Association for a field trip, a huge sex scandal broke out. Director Zhao spoke with great enthusiasm, describing it in such vivid detail that it rivaled the story of Mr. Shan Tianfang when he was alive. Even Jin Zi was amazed and slapped the table in surprise.
Director Zhao is getting on in years and spends a lot of time traveling for business and meetings, so his energy is limited. In addition, Xue Jing is playing the supporting role too hard, and before the journey was even halfway over, he was already tired of talking, had a headache and felt dizzy. He started to show signs of motion sickness, frequently covering his mouth and nose and gagging.
After taking one of Xue Jing's spare motion sickness pills, Director Zhao waved his hand, reclined his seat, and began to close his eyes to rest. Xue Jing then took advantage of the time between getting in and out of the car to change seats and sit in the passenger seat next to Jin Zhenliang.
In the latter half of the journey, Director Zhao snored loudly in the car. Xue Jing didn't sleep; he was responsible for chatting with Jinzi, using the conversation to help her stay alert.
Most long-distance bus drivers like to have someone to talk to to relieve boredom, otherwise drowsiness can easily spread in the cramped and warm space, affecting driving safety, and Jinzi is no exception.
He wasn't very learned, and the leaders who rode in his car rarely interacted with him.
Furthermore, aside from their everyday conversations, he only had a vague understanding of their discussions about politics, culture, and ideology, even if he listened attentively.
Initially, when he saw Xue Jing sit in the passenger seat, he was a little afraid that he might say the wrong thing or not know how to respond to a scholar's remarks.
But as they chatted, Xue Jing's smiling eyes were so pleasant that his tense mood quickly relaxed. Besides, he was very familiar with the things Xue Jing was asking him about.
Mr. Xue plans to stay in Suicheng for two or three months to write his works. Staying in hotels all the time would be too expensive, so he plans to rent a room in a densely populated residential area. In addition to the house, he also plans to buy a used car.
It's not very convenient to take a taxi between the wind power plant and the city.
"So what type of car are you looking for? A sedan or an SUV? And what's your budget for that?"
"There's a pretty big used car market near the High-tech Zone. I'll take you there sometime."
Xue Jing almost never drives when he lives in Jicheng. His schedule is very flexible. He doesn't have to work from nine to five, so even when he needs to travel, he always avoids the morning and evening rush hours.
He would take the subway or a bus to keep his appointments, just so he could sit down and casually observe all the pedestrians who passed him by.
The summer he graduated from university, his debut novel earned him over seven million yuan in royalties from publication and reprints alone. After paying his personal income tax according to law, he used the remaining six million yuan to buy a 2017 Bentley Mulsanne.
The car had a long wheelbase, making it extremely cumbersome to drive in the densely trafficked city of Ji. Apart from the fact that its large 6.8T engine could automatically drive away birds from the trees within a hundred miles when it started, Xue Jing saw no advantage whatsoever.
Moreover, most Bentley buyers employ chauffeured drivers, allowing the property owner to simply enjoy comfort in the back seat.
Hiring someone to drive was the kind of employment relationship his parents preferred.
Putting aside Xue Lianwu's company operations, Xue Lianwu and Feng Yun's home required hiring people to cook, clean, and tend to the garden. Feng Yun even hired someone to go shopping for her at various malls.
Xue Jing hasn't gotten that arrogant yet. He hasn't lost any hands or feet, so he doesn't need a special person to drive him around. That Bentley is still sitting in the garage downstairs from his house, gathering dust.
Times have changed. He reflected that he was no longer as impulsive as he was when he bought luxury cars back then. More importantly, no matter how good the car was, it couldn't impress Ha Yue anymore.
So Xue Jing thought for a moment and said, "It would be best if it could hold some animals."
"Animals? How big are they? Are you planning to keep a few dogs here for fun?" Jinzi chuckled when she heard this. Many people in Suicheng keep dogs, but they don't care about purebreds; they mostly keep mixed breeds for guarding.
There are many kennels that breed Tibetan Mastiffs, but those dogs are too fierce and are mostly used for guarding ranches.
Xue Jing certainly couldn't tell Jinzi that he was buying the car based on the weight of two pigs, so he smiled and changed his words, "Slip of the tongue, it's cargo. I'm not sure about the estimated weight in the future, but it'll be at least three or four hundred pounds."
He doesn't yet understand why Ha Yue wants to raise pigs at home, but whether she's raising them for fun or for food, once they grow up, there will definitely be a day when she takes them away to sell them for money.
Furthermore, pigs eat grains just like humans, and it's inevitable that they'll need to see a veterinarian when they get sick.
An electric tricycle definitely can't fit an adult pig.
“Then let’s buy a Ford Raptor. It can haul a ton of cargo without any problem. I’ll post on my WeChat Moments in the next few days to see if anyone has one. Used dealers can help us buy it from other places.”
Having finalized the car purchase, Xue Jing then took a step-by-step approach, discussing housing with Jinzi.
Xue Jing first asked him where he lived and what the surrounding environment was like. After learning that Jinzi did not recommend his family's bungalows, he sincerely expressed his curiosity.
"I understand. The area you're talking about is one of the older neighborhoods in Suicheng? I guess I might not fit in very well. Are all your neighbors old acquaintances?"
Xue Jing's words revealed a hint of barely perceptible grievance.
Upon hearing this, Jinzi immediately shook her head. "Teacher Xue, please don't think that way. We locals aren't that xenophobic. It's just that the houses there are all made of adobe, so they're cold in winter and hot in summer. Winter is coming soon, and if you stay there, you'll have to solve your own heating problem. Buying a boiler, running the boiler, and buying coal are all tiring things. It's too much suffering."
“There are actually quite a few empty houses in our area. The older neighbors who are in slightly better shape have all gone to other places to retire with their children. Only those of us who are not successful are still living there with our parents.”
"Oh, by the way, the one who gave you a ride in the tricycle last time was my neighbor, Sister Ha Yue."
As she spoke, Jinzi grinned at Xue Jing, her attitude full of pride, "But my sister is different from us. She's not useless, she is, she is..."
Jinzi originally wanted to say that she voluntarily returned to Suicheng to develop her career because of her mother's illness, and that she was known as a very filial daughter by her neighbors.
Jinzi swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue. He was a kind-hearted man, but he had his own set of rules for dealing with people. Even though Teacher Xue in front of him didn't seem like a bad person, he shouldn't have brought up Sister Ha Yue and Aunt Zhao's private lives as gossip.
Being sick is, after all, a person's privacy, and many people are reluctant to let outsiders know that there is a sick person in their family.
Seeing the hesitation on Jin Zi's face, Xue Jing silently tapped his fingers back and forth on his knee, while patiently reminding him, "Hmm, I'm listening. Who is she?"
Soon, the words in Jinzi's mouth took a detour, following the direction of the road in front of her.
"She was the top scorer in the college entrance examination in our Suicheng! She's always been a great student, haha."
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